RECEIVERSHIP
In autumn of 1991, the long running fiscal problems in Chelsea came to a head, and the local government, in effect, was suspended. By the summer of 1991, Chelsea's financial outlook was very bleak. On June 11, after determining that the city would not have sufficient money to meet upcoming payrolls, Mayor John Brennan requested assistance from Peter Nessen, the Commonwealth's Adminstration and Finance Secretary. In response, Nessen convened a panel of experts, chaired by Eric Kriss, the state's Chief Financial Officer. The panel found that Chelsea was operating under a structural deficit of over $9.5 million on a $41 million budget, and could not increase revenue without an increase in property tax and was unable to significantly reduce costs. Factors contributing to the city's structural deficit were beyond the city's control and poor management on the part of city government had compounded the problem. After years of increased state intervention and assistance, the city was still slipping further into debt. Government corruption was so bad that FBI investigations eventually led to the arrest of three former mayors, with Brennan being granted immunity after confessing to wrong-doings. Several desperate attempts had been made to both reduce expenditures and raise revenues to keep the city afloat. The board of Aldermen, however, rejected budget reductions and the voters in April rejected a $2 million budget override. As far back as the 1970's, the city was suffering from serious fiscal problems. The problems were so severe that the federal government considered a plan to remove the entire population of the city and turn the entire city into an industrial park, to be annexed to the City of Boston. On September 4, 1991, the state finance control board, which had been overseeing the financial dealings of the city, rejected Chelsea's bid for an emergency one-month budget. The board's decision left the city with no authority to spend any money. The next day, Governor William Weld proposed an unprecedented bill that removed the mayor from office and called for all other elected officials to serve merely as advisors to a state appointed receiver. The bill appointed the receiver for a minimum of two years, and as long as five years. The receiver was given the power to undo city contracts, revamp zoning regulations and increase city revenues by imposing new fees on residents, or raising existing ones. With the schools closed, due to lack of funds to pay teachers, Weld filed the bill with a request that it be enacted within 48 hours. The bill quickly passed the legislature, and on September 12, 1991, Weld appointed James Carlin as the first receiver of the City of Chelsea.
RECEIVERSHIP IS IMPLEMENTED
James F. Carlin James Carlin was born in 1940, the son of a school teacher. At age 26 he founded Carlin Insurance Company and built it into the largest solely owned independent agency in Massachusetts. At age 38 he joined the administration of Governor Edward King as commissioner of commerce where he coined the phrase "Make it in Massachusetts." Two years later he was named secretary of transportation and chairman of the MBTA. He was appointed by Governor William Weld in 1991 as the first receiver for the City of Chelsea	The first step facing Carlin was to get the schools open. After accomplishing this attention quickly turned to cutting expenditures in other areas. One of his most contentious decisions was to make cuts to the fire department, something that could not be done under the city's previous government. By his third day on the job, Carlin had set a moratorium on overtime for firefighters. He then restructured the city's union contract, reducing the city's annual overtime bill for the fire department from over $1 million to less that $250,000. Carlin also cut the number of firefighters on the force to be more proportional to the size of the city. The firefighter's union sued after and arbiter found that Carlin had violated the minimum staffing clause in the firefighter's contract. A Superior Court judge threw out the case, citing the fact that the law empowered the receiver to restructure such contracts. The next step for Carlin was to crack down on those not paying for city services. The city was losing a temendous amount of money due to unpaid water and sewage bills. In order to accomplish this Carlin ordered the city to send cut-off notices to all businesses
that did not pay. He used the same aggressive approach with real estate taxes, by moving to quickly foreclose on delinquent businesses. The result was that the money started coming in. After one tumultuous month in office Carlin managed to balance the budget although it would take six more month for his plans to be completely enacted. After the first year, Carlin made plans to step down. He handed over the reigns to his deputy Lewis H. Spence. Spence became the second receiver for the City of Chelsea. Spence took a more methodical approach to building the city back up. He oversaw two
Lewis Harry Spence Lewis H. Spence was born in 1947. He earned his reputation for public service in the early 1980's during a 4 1/2 year stint as the court appointed receiver of the Boston Housing Authority. Afterward he worked at two different development companies. In the late 1980's he attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government as a lecturer. He later travelled to India in a quest for personal fullment that included a visit to a Siddha Yoga ashram. He was assistant receiver under James Carlin and later appointed Chelsea's second receiver upon James Carlin's resignation.	consecutive budget surpluses in 1993 and in 1994, an occurrence that would have been impossible a few years earlier. It was also under Spence's watch that the city received $250 million in state funds for construction projects such as the courthouse and the first public schools built in the city since the turn of the century. Spence also struck a reconciliatory note with the community by hiring eight Hispanics to the police department, as well as several other Hispanics to positions within City Hall. Spence also began hiring many of the firefighters laid off by Carlin, in an attempt to improve relations before returning the city to self rule. The last year of his three year tenure was spent mostly focusing on the process of creating a new city charter and government that would resist a slip back to the days of corruption and debt. Out of that year of planning between Spence, his staff and a Charter Committee came a charter which featured a powerful city manager that is charged with the day-to-day operation of the city and an 11-member city council, that sets policy for the city manager and is
responsible for the hiring and firing of the city manager. The new charter paints a clear line between roles and offers several safeguards against a slip into the corruption of the past, including a provision anyone convicted of any crime is ineligible from serving in the city government.
CHELSEA CITY MANAGERS
Guy Santigate Under the new Charter for the City of Chelsea, Guy Santigate was selected by the City Council to become Chelsea's first city manager. Selected in July of 1995 and resigned in June 2000. In 1962, at age 22, and in his junior year at Suffolk University, he decided to enter politics and was elected alderman of ward 1. The first Italian in a predominately Jewish district. Three years later he was elected president of the board of alderman. In 1969 he ran for mayor as the odds on favorite against Phil Spellman, Joe Margolis and Tony Maresco. Margolis won a surprise victory. 11 months later Margolis died and a special election was called. Santigate decided not to run. From 1972 to 1995 he was on the Board of Assesors. With the advent of receivership in 1991, he became a one man board. In 1995 the new city charter created the position of city manager. He was one of 60 candidates to apply. An outside panel narrowed the list down to four and the city council finally decided on Santigate. On July 10, 1995, the City Council, by a vote of 7-4, elected Santagate as the city's first city manager. He was sworn in in August of 1995 thus ending the state receivership that had disgraced the city. During Santigate's tenure the city budget was balanced and generated surpluses for each of the five years. Chelsea's credit rating was improved and in 1998 Chelsea was one of 10 communities to be designated an "All-American City" by the National Civic League. He was instrumental for major development projects in Chelsea like the Kayem Foods and Pillsbury Foods expansion and the construction of the Wyndham Hotel. He implimented a comprehensive Capital Improvement Program spending millions of dollars on roadway repair, sewer reconstruction, open space maintenance, and vehicle acquisition. He led the effort to extend the Chelsea/BU partnership. Under his administration seven new schools were built and an eighth was renovated. Santigate created the Chelsea Historical Commission in 1998 in an effort to preserve Chelsea's rich history. He resigned from office in June of 2000.
Robert Jay Ash Robert Jay Ash was chosen Chelsea's second city manager on Wednesday, September 6, 2000.   Additional information being researched